Life Style

How to Enjoy Going to the Bar Without Spending Tons of Money

Written by adminSeptember 11, 2019

For many centuries, bars and pubs have been a great place for people to go after a long, hard day at work. They go to meet friends, have a few beers, and take the edge off. The problem with this is, going to the bar can be quite expensive. The average tab today is around $25 per person, which can really add up if you’re going frequently.

If you’re someone who wants to watch the budget, you can still go to the bar and enjoy a great time with family and friends. It just means you have to be more careful about how you spend your money. There are several steps you can take to ensure you leave the bar without emptying out your bank account.

1) Go During Happy Hour

Yes, happy hour may not be the most fun times of the day, but it’s when you can find the best deals. Happy hours are designed to get you in the door and they hope you stay and party through the night. If you take advantage of happy hour, you will ultimately spend less on booze and food while still having a great time.

2) Don’t Get a Tab

The bartender hopes you’ll open a tab so you can continue drinking. The bad part about that is, as you keep drinking, you don’t know how much money you’ve spent. Where do you draw the line? You can easily spend hundreds by opening a tab and just saying, “add it to my tab.” Then what happens when you get a few in you? Your inhibitions kick in and you start offering to buy people rounds and the party continues. Don’t open a tab. Know how much you’re spending and keep yourself to a budget.

3) Make Smarter Decisions

Bars can get a lot of drinks out of a keg, so they often price draft beers cheaper than bottles. That’s one decision you can make to lessen the burden on your wallet. Watch what you’re ordering. Bar food is also often more expensive. If you know you want to eat during the night, plan it so you don’t eat at the bar. If you’re a wine drinker, order the whole bottle than paying per glass, which is often more expensive.

4) Tipping

It’s common practice to tip $1 per drink, according to industry experts. This is another thing you should do with cash. Pull money out of the ATM and while you’re paying for the drinks in cash, also leave room for the tip. That way you’ll spend less money. Doing everything in cash seems to be the trick to saving money as you can better budget how you’re spending.

Written by adminJuly 22, 2019

Life Style

We all experience stress in multiple ways throughout our life. Whether it’s daily stress that accumulates over time or life-altering issues we often face, stress can impact our bodies in a variety of ways. Stress has been directly linked to an increase in depression, high blood pressure, strokes, and anxiety.

Science has proven that people who have regular, prolonged instances of stress over their life are usually the ones with the major cardiovascular problems later in life. In that way, you can almost consider stress to be a meat tenderizer that takes its toll on your body. It can even cause weight and memory issues.

While stress is a normal part of life, how we deal with it is under our control. We all work really hard, trying to make it and fighting all sorts of obstacles. Money problems can heighten the stress you feel. You might be facing some major bills or struggle to keep your debt in check.

1) Wake Up Earlier

How you start your day can impact the way the rest of your day goes. A lot of people wake up as late as they can and RUSH RUSH RUSH out the door. They barely have enough time to grab something to eat or they hit the fast food joint on the way to work. The best thing you can do for yourself in the morning is to SLOW DOWN.

If you drink coffee in the morning, it takes about 20 minutes for the caffeine to metabolize in your body to full effect. Take that time in the morning to slow down the morning rush. When going at your pace, you may find that your days are smoother and less hectic, especially if you battle traffic each morning.

Center yourself. Go in relaxed and ready to take on the day versus in a bad mood.

2) Take Up a Hobby

What better way to take your mind off a bad day or stressful situation than to indulge in a favorite hobby? When the mind gets flooded with thought after thought and worries you’re constantly facing, there’s no better way to direct the mind than by focusing on something else instead. Our brain isn’t that good at multitasking and likes to bounce around. But if you can focus on that one activity, like gardening, scrapbooking, or knitting, it has a way of channeling those thoughts and energy to the task at hand.

“There’s something about the tactile element of scrapbooking—cutting, pasting, positioning—that is probably more relaxing than posting online,” says Nina Savelle-Rocklin, PsyD, a Los Angeles-based psychotherapist. With gardening, you hold the soil in your hands and spend more time outside in the sun. Whatever you do, pick one thing and put all your focus and energy into it.

3) Good Food

The kind of food you eat can either make you or break you when it comes to stress. When we’re under stress, most people have the tendency to start munching on some not-so-good foods. The rise in cortisol is linked to wild cravings for sugar and heavy carbs, according to researchers at the University of California at San Francisco Medical Center. It becomes a nasty endless cycle of weight gain and even higher cortisol levels, leading to more binge eating.

Those types of foods are also high in things like chemicals, preservatives, sodium. The high-sodium content alone will make you feel bloated, increase your blood pressure, and leave you feeling blah mentally. The trick with these kinds of processed foods and carbs is you become addicted to them, so you keep running to them when feeling down.

4) Simplify Your Life

It seems like everything we do in life is about seeking out something bigger and better than what we already have. We work extra hours to pay for the things we don’t need. While it’s nice to have things, all this extra stuff can complicate our lives severely. Is it worth the stress and health issues it leads to? Only you can decide that.

Of course, this doesn’t apply to everyone, but take a moment away from the grind and look around. Are the goals in your life meaningful? We are seeing more and more books and magazines with this same message. And it’s not necessarily about living frugally, but just slowing down to smell the roses, so to speak. Declutter your house. Downsize certain goals and ambitions that just seem to bring you down.

5) Exercise

In a lot of ways, this point can go along with taking up a hobby. Not only does exercise give you something to focus on, it also helps to burn all the stress hormones that build up in your muscles. Another benefit to exercise is you simply become a fitter person. Someone who is fit is able to handle stressful situations better than someone who is not.

6) Meditation

A few of the stress busters mentioned above involve distracting yourself. Sometimes, though, a distraction isn’t enough. You need to fully remove yourself from the stressor. There are a lot of great ways to do this. Meditation is one of them. Meditation is essentially another word for “relax.” Take some deep breaths. Listen to soothing music.

We all need to find ways to just get away from the grind. If we allow stress to constantly eat at us, every single day, it will only make us sick and miserable. By changing the way we look at our priorities, taking some time away to relax, eating the right foods, and doing the things we love can really fight back and help us win the war against stress.

Written by adminJuly 3, 2019

Life Style

We’re less than a month away from the 4^th of July holiday. Americans from all over the spectrum love this day, not just as a way of celebrating America, but for all the fun it entails. From fireworks to barbeques and swimming at the lake, it screams Americana. If you’re on a budget, you can still celebrate while saving a bit of green.

Let’s take a look at the various ways you can save money this 4^th of July season.

1) Save on Food

Summer is a great time to get good food and for cheap. We know that plenty of people stock up on hamburgers and hotdogs. Those of the staples of any good 4^th of July celebration. The key here is to pay attention to the sales. Grocery stores like to stock up as well and if they think they have too much of one product, they will lower the price to get rid of it.

These months, chicken and skirt steaks are also a bargain. Still, these are just the meat products. The fact that it’s summer also means farmer’s markets are full of great (and often cheap) produce to go with the main dish. They are often the best places to look for the freshest produce often grown locally.

2) Save on Decorations

This is another simple one. You don’t have to spend hundreds on a few simple July 4^th decorations. Go to the dollar store! They have streamers, plates, cups, and anything else you need. The best part? Everything is just a buck and the stuff you can find are pretty decent. There’s no reason to go all out on decorations otherwise.

3) Save on Clothing

The middle of the summer probably isn’t the best time to buy swimsuits and other summer clothing. This is usually when things are more expensive, but you might be surprised! Close to or even after the 4^th, stores will start to set up major sales to get rid of their stock. This is actually when they begin to prepare for back-to-school and fall clothing.

So, if you’re really looking for some good deals on clothes, this might be a great time to find it. Keep your eyes open to the sales, especially special three-day weekends around the holiday. If stores want to get rid of their inventory, then it’s the perfect change to stock up on great fashions for less.

Like with most things, you don’t have to spend a lot of money to enjoy one of America’s favorite holidays! Celebrating with your friends and family can be done cheaply without taking any of the fun out of it.

Written by adminJuly 2, 2019

Life Style , Student Loan Consolidation

People have been waiting around for the flying car ever since Back to the Future promised us this advancement back in the 1980s, but we’re not quite there yet. Still, we’ve come a long way in transportation since our horse and buggy days. For many decades, your average combustion engine has been the way of the automobile.

It has dominated sales for three main reasons:

1) Cheaper to make than electric cars,

2) Better range than electric cars, and

3) Cheap fuel.

These days, the paradigm is shifting. Concerns over global warming caused by pollution from cars and trucks are at an all-time high. Global temperatures are rising and smog is only getting worse in heavily populated areas. The only way to combat these issues is through the advancement of technology and purchasing electric cars.

If you find yourself concerned for the environment and desire to play your part in helping fix the problem, there are a few things you need to know before buying an electric car. Here is a short list of things you might need to know:

1) What is your normal route? The one downside to electric cars is their lack of range. If you live and work on completely opposite ends of a large city, or maybe you’re situated way out in the country, you might want to second guess the electric car and go for a hybrid. Electric cars only have a maximum range of 100 miles. A lot of them are shorter than that. Do you do a lot of driving during an average day? Do you take a lot of trips? Get stuck in traffic a lot? If so, then a hybrid vehicle might be the best for you, as it combines an electric engine with a combustion one, so when the battery juices run out, it switches over to gas.

2) Consider where you live. Anyone who has ever driven a vehicle with a battery in very cold weather knows that the battery doesn’t extreme temps. If you live somewhere that gets super cold for a prolonged amount of time, then an electric car might not be for you. You must also consider your availability to a charger. Some require a simple power outlet. A lot of places where the EV cars are most popular are integrating charging stations. So, always be sure to know your surroundings and if having any type of EV or HEV is right for the conditions.

3) EVs have very little noise. If it’s one thing all car owners know well, it’s the hum of the combustion engine. The sound it makes when it starts up, when it’s being revved, and when you’re slowing down. It will take some time to get used to the fact that electric engines are virtually silent. This might be great, except for the fact that no one will hear you coming. This can be dangerous when going around corners. It will require you to change the way you drive.

4) You’ll have to rethink fueling up. We’ve all done it before. We’ve all waited until the tank was nearly empty, driving on fumes to pull into the gas station. We save fueling for when we’re out an about because it takes typically 5 minutes or less. With an electric car, you don’t have that luxury. The average time to charge a battery is 90 minutes. So, if you’re rushing late to work and you forgot to charge your car overnight, you’re out of luck. You can’t just stop at the gas station.

5) Costs of going green. Yes, the biggest perk of going green is you no longer have to spend money on endless gallons of gasoline. This doesn’t require the constant repairs, oil changes, and other maintenance issues that crop up with a combustion engine car. But one of the biggest complaints about the EV is they are typically more expensive. Their expense is why gasoline powered cars became more popular than electric all those years ago. You should be able to do your research and see how the cost vs. savings plays out for you.

6) The government might want to help you get one. Combined with point #5, you should be sure to check into whether the government is in the mood to help cover the costs of buying an electric car. They often offer subsidies to encourage people to go clean instead of buying a cheaper, combustion engine vehicle. Both the federal and state level governments offer their own benefits, so be sure to check what you can obtain for your state.

7) These things go fast! Face it, we all love speed. It’s a need, really. There’s a myth out there that electric cars are super slow compared to the muscle-power you get with a combustion engine. The latest Model S EV from Tesla can hit zero-to-sixty in 2.8 seconds. That’s some serious speed! It’s comparable to the 918 Spyder from Porsche! Whatever specification you have in a car, an EV offers all the torque you need.

8) Not for towing. While electric vehicles have great speed, the technology doesn’t exist quite yet for them to do any heavy-duty work. Not only is range an issue, but EVs are generally weaker.

9) You can go hybrid. If you need more range or power, then you should consider a hybrid vehicle. Hybrids combine the electric battery with the usual combustion engine. The purpose of these is sort of a bridge between full-electric and full-gasoline. When the battery runs out, it would automatically jump to the gas engine.

As environmentalism grows in fervor, more people will start to search for cleaner ways to get around. Electric cars are the future of transportation. Armed with these nine things to know, you’ll be well on your way to living as carbon-free as possible. There are other things to know and remember, which we will provide in future articles.

Written by adminJune 21, 2019

Life Style

One of the ways used to determine how well the economy is going is by looking at charitable giving. A lot of Americans feel quite charitable and give regularly. Maybe they tithe to their church or help support a soup kitchen or any of the thousands of charities out there. It appears as if 2018 saw a massive drop in such giving to charities.

In fact, this was the largest drop in charitable giving since the 2008-2009 Great Recession. Part of the slip in giving is due to the tax policy changes that happened that year. It was a 1.1% drop from 2017. While that might not seem like a lot of money, it totals out somewhere around $3 billion less than 2017. This is according to data from The Giving USA report.

It was an interesting year. The new tax cuts were put in place, but hardly anyone noticed until it was tax time. The economy was strong and wages have started to rise, but the stock market was volatile. While individuals didn’t feel it was a good time to give, big corporations, who received the largest part of this tax cut, actually improved their giving by 0.7%.

Reason for the Drop

Experts say the reason why charitable giving fell in 2018 is the new tax change. It doubled the standard deduction. 45 million households in 2016 itemized their deductions, but because the new tax law already doubled it, they didn’t feel the need to donate money to increase it themselves. It ultimately lowered the incentive often given for charitable giving.

“Whenever there’s a major tax policy change like that, it has an effect.” said Rick Dunham, chair of Giving USA Foundation, which publishes the annual report. It is researched and written by the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy.

Stacy Palmer, editor of the Chronicle of Philanthropy, a magazine that covers the nonprofit world, said, “The changes would have relatively less impact on charities that rely on wealthy donors, and greater impact on social-service providers and other charities that get broad support from middle-class Americans. Charities who depend on them are really worried,” said Palmer.

Impact on Charities

While charitable giving is down overall, the full impact of this loss won’t be realized until later this year. Groups like United Way don’t release their financial year numbers until later. But it’s known that about 90% of the money they receive is from workplace campaigns. They’re already starting to see challenges, including competition from websites like GoFundMe.

Religious giving is also down. A lot of that has to do with the controversy surrounding the Catholic church and the lower number of people who identify themselves as religious. But it’s not just religion, as overall giving for educational foundations and society benefits are also down, revealing a larger overall problem.

At the same time, giving was up for some sectors. It was found that environmental and animal-welfare type nonprofits did see an increase in donations. Even some international affairs saw an increase, but overall nonprofits saw the largest increase. We’ll find out more information about how the tax law impacted charities later this year.

Written by adminJune 3, 2019

Life Style

It was the beginning of a new era. Digital music seemingly was born the day the first iPod was released along with iTunes. Instead of going to the local store to buy an entire CD, you could just download the music on your computer and your iPod to carry around with you. It revolutionized the music industry while causing a lot of controversy along the way.

Now, this era might be coming to an end. Nearly 20 years after the launch of iTunes, Apple is looking to replace it with a better program. In fact, Apple is going to announce this change today at the Worldwide Developers Conference in San Jose. They believe it’s time to retire iTunes and create something smoother and more in-tune with the modern listener.

While iTunes certainly changed the way we listen to music, it wasn’t perfect. There were a lot of outdated features Apple fans didn’t like. In turn, this change has been rumored for several years. Apple wants to implement a faster, sleeker, more modern version. They even want to separate the different functionalities that are currently combined on the iTunes platform, like movies, podcasts, and TV.

Apple’s Separate Platforms

Apple really wants to expand their brand. By taking iTunes and breaking it up into three different platforms, it will become a multifaceted entertainment company. It also will allow the three different areas to run smoothly and efficiently rather than all combined and bogging down the one. It also wants to expand other entertainment apps.

According to other rumors about Apple’s intent, they really want to beef up Messages, Mail, and Books, taking pages from Facebook, Amazon, Yahoo, and Google. They even want to start creating original content. They recently announced a new project starring Steve Carell and Reese Witherspoon.

While many people are cheering for the death of iTunes, ready for a better, faster system, it should get the credit it deserves for changing the entertainment world. In the early 2000’s, this platform was revolutionary and has stood the test of time where others have failed. At the time, Napster had the music industry on edge.

It was found that Napster was allowing users to illegally download music for free. It was definitely the new wave of the future, but after Napster went down, Apple came and filled the void. It took Napster’s formula of downloading single-file music entries and was a great compromise for musicians. Still, many bands to this day refuse to allow their music to be played on iTunes.

Bands like Metallica were against the platform for a long time. Tool, another popular rock band, still has not taken the leap, much to the dismay of fans. Microsoft and Sony put out their own versions, like the Zune, but they didn’t last very long. They didn’t seem to have the same creative edge that Apple seems to have had.

“(Microsoft and Sony) were technology companies that knew how to build disc players and hardware, but they weren’t companies that had demonstrated Apple’s sophistication with regard to the software,” Warner Music’s vice president Paul Vidich recalled to Rolling Stone in 2013, on the iTunes Store’s 10th anniversary. “It really took a company that was able to bridge those two things and come up with an attractive consumer product.”

Written by adminMay 31, 2019

Life Style

What are the major contributors to your credit card debt?

According to a new Experian report, Americans have an average of $6,500 in credit card debt. Which expenses are the major contributors to that balance though, you may ask?

23% of Americans surveyed in that study say that purchasing basic necessities is the largest contributor to their credit card debt. That includes rent, utilities, and groceries. Another 12% say that medical bills constitute the majority of their debt.

Call Now 844-332-2079

Cost of Living Going Up

This increasing debt can be attributed to the rise of living costs. A couple of decades ago, middle class life was 30% less expensive than it is today. The cost of college has skyrocketed, in addition to housing and child care.

The cost of tuition at public universities more than doubled in the last 20 years. In some cities, housing prices even quadrupled, turning most millennials away from home ownership.

It’s now more common for millennials to be scraping by, living from paycheck to paycheck. 57% of Americans have less than $1,000 in savings and more than 70% say they will encounter financial difficulty if their paycheck was put off by a week.

Spend Responsibly

For some, it may come down to spending on non-essential items such as entertainment and luxury items. According to Schwab’s Modern Wealth report, Americans were found to spend an average of $480 a month on non-essentials. This included dining out, entertainment and nightlife, luxury items and vacations.

It is always prudent to keep your balance low, as it can get expensive to let it roll over. The average credit card APR starts at 17.73%, and with such high rates monthly balances can quickly add up.

Take for example that you have a credit card balance of $6300. If you’re charged the average APR and you make minimum payments (3% or $190), you would stay in debt for over 17 years and pay more than $5,800 in interest.

Reducing Your Debt

If you’re looking to pay down your balance quicker, you could open another credit card that allows you to transfer over your balance while offering an extended 0% APR period.

Some of these cards do charge a 3%-5% fee to transfer your balance so watch out for that. An ideal option can be the Amex Everyday, which offers a 0% APR on balance transfers for 15 months and no transfer fees.

Saundra Davis, a financial coach and adjunct professor, has this to day about reducing personal debt. “There are only three things you can do if you are not happy with your financial situation: make more, spend less or a combination of the two. there is no other magic.”

The first step towards doing this is to be responsible and accountable for your purchases. Set an achievable goal that is realistic. It’s not feasible to go from not saving anything to suddenly saving $500 a month, says Davis.

The trick is to start small. It’s easy to start saving $5 a week, or cooking homemade meals more often and depositing that money you otherwise would’ve spent on going out.

You can transfer this practice into your other purchases as well, such as going out with friends, travel and buying luxury items. It really is about cultivating that shift in mindset and developing new habits.

As always, if you need to talk to an advisor about creating a savings plan, the Financial Helpers are only a call away.

Call Now 844-332-2079

Written by adminMay 24, 2019

Life Style , Saving

Life is often strange and unpredictable. All it takes is one single incident to change the course of your life forever. Sadly, most Americans aren’t prepared for any bad things to happen. In fact, it’s estimated by the Federal Reserve that 44% of us don’t even have $400 in savings if we had an emergency. Depending on the emergency, you’d be out of luck!

A single emergency room visit alone, without insurance, costs anywhere between $150 and $3,000. But emergency room visits are only a single type of emergency. Imagine suddenly losing your job, your house burning down, or a natural disaster hits. How would you make it through? Would you survive the direct impact that even has on your life?

Here’s a list of ways you can get through an emergency situation if you don’t have money saved up.

1) You Can Sell Your Hair

This might seem like an odd thing to do, but if you have long hair, it can be quite valuable. A lot of people donate their hair to Locks of Love or other charities, but in a pinch, you can also sell it. There are several websites out there that you can sell your hair to from anywhere between $100 and $1,000, giving you a few extra bucks in a pinch.

2) Get Some Side Work

There’s nothing wrong with rolling up the sleeves and doing a little extra work for a few bucks. Maybe someone needs help with something, like a neighbor, who can pay you. Think about being a teenager again. How did you make money? Maybe you shoveled snow off driveways or mowed lawns.

There are some websites out there, like TaskRabbit, that allows you to find quick little jobs people need done. They can be chores or other tasks you will be paid to get done. Every little bit helps when you’re in a pinch.

3) Sell Some Stuff

Between garage sales and pawn shops, you have the capacity to rid of a few things you don’t need anymore. Most of us have things we’ve collected over the years. Perhaps some of it is quite valuable. Even if it’s not, you never know what someone is willing to buy. Selling old clothes, books, movies, etc, can be a great way to raise extra cash.

4) Crowdfunding

Indiegogo and GoFundMe are popular crowdfunding sites. Sometimes it pays off to push down your pride and simply ask for some help. Human beings love to help each other out and raising money to get through a tough time isn’t a bad thing at all. It can really help you get out of your bind. Friends and family often love to help, too, so don’t think of yourself as a burden.

5) Sell Stuff on Etsy

If you’re great at making things, that might benefit you. Maybe you only knit as a hobby and give away to family and friends, but you can sell your stuff and make extra cash. Websites like Etsy let people sell handmade products. It can take some time to really get good at selling, but many have made a living off the site.

Life can be difficult at times. The absolute best way to overcome any obstacles that come is to save your money. Have a rainy day fund so you’re always covered. The best advice is to save up at least 6 months’ worth of living expenses. Often times, emergencies hit you in more than only place, so be sure to have all your bases covered. Even if they’re not covered, hopefully these tips will help you get through it.

Written by adminMay 22, 2019

Life Style

Job hunting is one of the worst parts of life. We put a lot of ambition into making sure our resume is flawless, filling out seemingly endless numbers of applications, and most of the time we hear nothing back. Then, on the few occasions; we do get an interview, that’s even more work putting on a nice suit and competing against many others for the same job.

It’s not an easy or fun process. You have to be 100% on your game or you’ll lose out on an employment opportunity. Going into it haphazardly or unprepared won’t bode well for you. The competition for many key jobs, especially if you worked many years to earn a degree, can be maddening. Thankfully, we have several tips to help give you the edge.

1) Be Patient

Understanding this is often a lengthy process will help you get through it. Be patient. Let the process work itself out. Sadly, a lot of people give up after two weeks when it can take several months from application to your first day on the job. Not giving up is in your best interest. In that time, you’ll have to keep your affairs in order.

2) Don’t Give Up If You Didn’t Get the Job

Okay, so you did get a letter or an email detailing that the position has been filled. You might feel a great deal of disappointment, but don’t give up! Sometimes that employee doesn’t work out or another opening will take place. According to statistics, 54% of bosses will look back at previous applicants. If you were second place, there’s a good chance you’ll get the next phone call if there’s a need.

3) Offer More than Your Resume

A lot of people just throw down their one-page resume. No, you shouldn’t go to two pages, but you should put more effort into presenting your case. Do you have a cover letter? Written recommendations? What about a portfolio and/or a social media page relating to what you do? 53% of employers say a resume isn’t enough, so put in the extra work to make everything look nice. Sell the whole package.

4) Become a Full-Time Job Finder

Do you really want a job? Seriously, do you really want it? The number of hours the average person spends looking for a job is 11 hours per week. That’s it! They expect the process to work for them rather than putting in the extra effort to put work into the process. Put in as many hours finding a job that you would working that job during the week.

5) Provide More than Just Skillset

So, you went to college and got a degree. That’s great! But so did everyone else who’s applying for the job. That’s not nearly enough to make you stand out. 63% of employers look for other intangibles in a person’s character beyond just the skills they want to hire you for. They want to know that the person they hire has great character, is honest, works hard, is dependable and is on time.

6) Don’t Be Afraid to Negotiate

If you’re an entry-level worker, you might not have much room to negotiate. But if you have great skills, an awesome character, and a bunch of experience behind you, you can negotiate if the first offer is too low. You might think that’s counterintuitive, but employers want great talent and will take the extra step to sign you on if they feel you’re the one they want. They may even give a lowball offer, thinking someone will take it, when they are willing to pay more.

Written by adminMay 21, 2019

Life Style

Not too many of us remember our commencement speaker, unless they were someone famous. In the back of our minds, we were thinking about getting the heck out of there. Summer was coming and it was time to be done! If you are part of the Morehouse College Class of 2019, you won’t be forgetting your commencement speaker anytime soon.

Robert F. Smith is a technology investor and a billionaire. He is the CEO of Vista Equity Partners and was asked to speak at Morehouse College to send off the graduates. Little did the students know, this billionaire CEO was going to announce to the world he was going to pay off all the student loans. What an incredible moment it was!

You could see in the crowd plenty of shocked faces as the audience stood and gave Smith a standing ovation. The amount of student loans for the class of 400 totals somewhere near $40 million. Smith also pledged a $1.5 million gift to the school as well. So, it’s easy to see how this man is clearly giving back to the next generation. In fact, he tells them to do the same.

“On behalf of the eight generations of my family that have been in this country, we’re gonna put a little fuel in your bus. This is my class, 2019. And my family is making a grant to eliminate their student loans,” Smith said to nearly 400 graduating students who cheered when they heard the news. “I know my class will make sure they pay this forward…and let’s make sure every class has the same opportunity going forward because we are enough to take care of our own community.”

Student Loans and Politics

Student loans has been a highly politicized topic in recent months. Most of the Democratic candidates at the beginning of their campaign has promised to champion the student loan debt problem. Currently, 44 million Americans owe $1.53 trillion. That’s not a number that appears to be going down anytime soon.

Yet, it’s moments like what went down at Morehouse College that has people paying attention. Morehouse is an all-male school that is historically all black. It’s located in Atlanta, Georgia. Smith says a person’s education shouldn’t be left up to where they live or the color of their skin. We should all be helping in our own way.

“Where you live shouldn’t determine whether you get educated. Where you go to school shouldn’t determine whether you get textbooks,” Smith said. “The opportunity you access should be determined by the fierceness of your intellect, the courage in your creativity and the grit that allows you to overcome expectations that weren’t set high enough.”

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, one of the voices along with Bernie Sanders calling for free college for everyone, made her voice known on this topic. She tweeted:

“Every Morehouse Class of 2019 student is getting their student debt load paid off by their commencement speaker. This could be the start of what’s known in Econ as a ‘natural experiment.’ Follow these students & compare their life choices w their peers over the next 10-15 years.”

She added in another tweet, “It’s important to note that people shouldn’t be in a situation where they depend on a stranger’s enormous act of charity for this kind of liberation to begin with (aka college should be affordable), but it is an incredible act of community investment in this system as it is.”

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